Zhigu

Zhigu grew where canals and rivers meet before flowing to the sea, at the site of later Tianjin. The Jin established a stockade here, and the Yuan made the settlement a centre for transferring grain between sea and river transport. Ships brought southern grain and other goods north for the capital, while officials supervised their unloading. In 1404 the Ming established the Tianjin Guard and built a walled town near the river junction. Markets developed around the wharves, where goods travelling between north and south could be exchanged. The military settlement and its waterways together laid the foundations of a busy commercial city.